Hurricane Irma chasing Greeks of Florida

Hurricane Irma has the predominantly Greek American community of Tarpon Springs running for cover as Florida becomes her next target.

Tarpon Spring’s mayor Chris Alahouzos said residents have braced themselves for the mammoth storm which made landfall in Florida earlier this morning.

"The danger begun about an hour ago [...] The situation is beginning to be difficult. The hurricane is approaching the city of Tarpon Springs. We're expecting it some time this evening," he said speaking via an emergency photo with Athens news agency.

Tarpon Springs is a city of about 25,000 people, most of whom have Greek-American ancestry. Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys and then Miami causing major flooding, after claiming dozens of lives in the Caribbean.

Alahouzos said residents were evacuated two days ago, depending on where they lived, and were led to shelters. Describing the current weather conditions he said "it is raining intensely and the wind is getting pretty strong, blowing at 40 miles per hour" and is expected to worsen as the storm approaches.

The streets are empty and the only ones outside are policemen and firefighters ready to help if there is an emergency, he said. However they will also take refugee as soon as Irma reaches the city.